In recent years, the sport of spear fishing with spear guns has grown rapidly due to the greater availability of, and improvements in, underwater diving devices.
Conventional spear guns may be classified according to two general types. On the one hand, pneumatic spear guns utilize an air-driven piston to drive the spear shaft down a barrel. Since pneumatic cylinders tend to be short, pneumatic spear guns are characterized by being relatively compact. On the other hand, elastic band powered, or sling-type, spear guns use one or more rubber bands to propel the spear shaft. Great power can be developed by using long barrels and strong rubber bands. Thus, elastic band powered spear guns tend to be relatively long barreled. Short guns tend to be easier to aim in the dense underwater environment; however, the power and accuracy of a spear gun tends to increase proportionately with increasing barrel length.
A diver often encounters different firing needs in different situations.
For example, in locations such as in shipwrecks, in shallow water, and under bridges, it is possible for the diver to approach within a few feet of a school of fish without disturbing and scattering them. Under these conditions, optimum performance requires the ability to aim rapidly at close range. In this situation, the use of a compact gun, such as a pneumatic spear gun, is desirable.
When the target is far away from the diver and not easily approachable, a shot with greater force at a longer range is required. In this situation, the use of a rubber band powered spear gun is desirable. However, aiming involves placement of one hand on the back end of the spear gun and the other hand on the grip part, which is also near the back end of the spear gun. Without leverage, it is very difficult to pivot the front end of the gun through dense water. Aiming becomes even more challenging if the target is a distant moving target. Laser pointers have recently been developed to aid in long range aiming. A laser pointer not only confirms to the underwater hunter the aim-point of the spear gun, the pointer also makes the gun easier to aim. Instead of having to hold the gun with the trigger hand at the grip and the aiming hand at the back end of the gun, and to pivot the gun using this awkward grip while aiming along the “sight” of the barrel, it now becomes possible to simply hold the gun with one hand on the grip and the other hand at or in front of the natural pivot point of the gun, and to fire the gun by aiming with the laser point rather than by sighting down the barrel. A “laser sight” tends to be desirable in many of the situations in which a long-barrel long-range type spear gun is used.
In other situations, when the diver is hunting in the dark, such as under bridges, at depth or near shipwrecks, it is desirable to use a flashlight to illuminate into crevices where fish tend to hide. Since handling a spear gun usually requires two hands, it is difficult to carry and aim a separate flashlight in one hand. Thus, in certain circumstances, it would be better to have a flashlight mounted to the spear gun, to leave the hands free for hunting.
Each one of different above-mentioned situations requires the use of a different type or configuration of spear gun. The underwater hunter needs to choose very carefully the type of underwater gun to be used according to his diving plans. However, dive plans change, environmental conditions change, targets of opportunity unexpectedly appear, and the underwater hunter, not having the right spear gun, may not be able to hunt the target fish.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a reconfigurable spear gun that provides the underwater hunter with the on-site capability of selecting or modifying the type of spear gun to be used and the accessories to be used, depending of the particular situation.
Yet another aggravation of spear fishing is that when a spear gun is set up for large or distant targets, and is then used to shoot a close-in or smaller target of opportunity, the spear may pass right through a fish, allowing the fish to escape. “Arrow stoppers” are known for use on arrows in land hunting, designed to prevent the arrow from going through the animal. However, arrow stoppers designed to work in thin air do not have problems of drag or premature deployment caused by resistance. Arrow stoppers will not work in dense water. There is thus a need for a spear stopper capable of preventing the back end of a spear from exiting the fish after the front of the spear has passed through the fish.
Another problem encountered by the underwater hunter is holding the spear gun during the reloading of the spear gun. Typically, the spear is inserted in the barrel of an elastic band type gun until it is seated in the trigger mechanism, and then the butt end of the gun is placed against the stomach and the elastic bands are pulled one at a time, with both hands, from the front of the gun and stretched to the back and set in notches in the spear. Underwater hunters wanting power out of their spear gun will use thick, powerful elastic bands. These bands are particularly difficult to stretch or draw, and many accidents occur as the butt of the gun slips from the stomach or as the rubber bands slip from the hands of the diver. Divers have come to accept the fact that reloading is a very difficult task.
In another circumstance, the diver encounters life-threatening situations that require the diver to distance or defend himself from an aggressive sea creature, such as a shark or barracuda. In such situations, the use of a power head (such as a 0.357 magnum power head commonly used on a defensive instrument known as a Bang Stick) may be required. This form of underwater firearm has been used as a means of defense against sharks for some time. Unfortunately, the use of a power head presents some problems: 1) the power head can be accidentally activated rendering it unsafe; and 2) the power head is attached to the end of a fishing spear making it difficult to aim. Thus, it would be desirable to have a power head mounted to the spear gun.
It would be also desirable to be able to provide a safety mechanism that prevents the power head to be discharged accidentally.
Thus, the art of spear fishing is still in need of significant improvement.